Wins and losses do not matter that much to Bastrop soccer player A.J. Yates.
While still a competitive player, Yates has a different perspective on the soccer field after battling — and winning -— a fight bigger than anything he has seen as an athlete.
On May 18, 2009, at the age of 17, Yates was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Nearly one year after his fight with cancer, Yates is now cancer free and back on the soccer field for the Bears.
“It really put things into perspective for me,” Yates said. “For me, I want to win, but winning isn’t everything.”
A week after he found out about his cancer, Yates had his cancerous testicle removed.
He then went through a chemotherapy treatment that began in June and finished up in September.
It was a process Yates said was probably harder on his mother, Rachel Yates, than him.
“(Mom) was there all the time,” he said. “I am the youngest in the family and I think it hurt her more than it did me.”
While going through this difficult time, Yates said he had a great support system, which included head coach Robert Watson and his teammates.
Yates said Watson gave him a book about Austinite and cycling champion Lance Armstrong, who also battled testicular cancer.
“I looked at (Lance) for inspiration a lot during this process,” Yates said. “I said, ‘if (Armstrong) can do it, so can I.’ This was just a bump in the road and I can get through it.”
He said he made up his mind long ago that instead of trying to play in college, he would concentrate on his studies in classical archeology when he attends the University of Texas in the fall.
“It never really went through my head that I wouldn’t play this season,” Yates said.
“I think about (the cancer) every time I step on the field. I went through something pretty bad and I play each game like it might be my last game.”
The Bears have just three games left on their schedule and it will be the final three games Yates will play competitively.
When that final horn sounds on his soccer career at Bastrop, soccer won’t be about winning and losing.
For Yates, it’s about something much bigger.
“I went through this and it proved to me I can do anything I want to do,” he said. “There are people that don’t get through this, so I feel pretty lucky.”